Texting while walking a risk for pedestrians: study

WASHINGTON--Texting while walking impairs a person's ability to follow a straight line and keep a normal pace, and may pose risks to pedestrians according to a study out Wednesday.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia decided to study texting while walking since it appeared no one had actually scientifically analyzed how the modern preoccupation impacts a person's gait.

Anecdotally, the evidence was clear, even among the 26 people they selected for the study: one in three admitted to having had some sort of texting accident, "including falls, trips and collisions with obstacles or other individuals."

Previous research has shown that texting and walking in virtual environments can raise the risk of accidents.